The sacredness of places in magersari sunanate palace

Abstract

Keraton (the Javanese palace) cannot be separated from the existence of sacred spaces and profane spaces manifested in the spatial hierarchy values. Magersari, a settlement located within the palace’s land, still recognizes the existence of profane and sacred spaces, and the condition has implications for the management of spaces. This article focuses on the discovery of the sacred spaces in Magersari and on finding the people’s ways to interpret a sacred place. The method employed in this research was the qualitative-descriptive method with the case study approach where the phases were observing the sacred spaces in Magersari, finding patterns of the layout of the sacred space, and conducting in-depth interviews with key informants in Magersari to find the way the people interpret the sacred spaces. The results have shown that: (1) sacred spaces are not always in the midpoint of space nor the centre of space; (2) sacred spaces are spaces that were firstly built by kings called the original space; (3) the people of Magersari interpret sacred spaces through the oral storytelling told from generation to generation, and this storytelling is in the form of orders (dhawuh) that must be followed by the people as the sign of obedience their kings; (4) The interpretation of sacred spaces is related to the reproduction of power. The people’s obedience to the rules of space management inside the palace area has caused the maintenance of a sacred and profane hierarchy in the palace’s spatial order; hence, not harming the palace’s layout, architecture, and landscape.

Keywords

• magersari
• obedience
• orders
• palace
• power reproduction
• sacred spaces